


Still A Flicker

by natashasbanner



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Post-Avengers 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 15:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12774309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashasbanner/pseuds/natashasbanner
Summary: After the events of Infinity Wars, the dust begins to settle and the Avengers find themselves find themselves back on Barton's farm. Bruce and Natasha connect for the first time since the Hulk left and Bruce hopes they haven't missed their window.





	Still A Flicker

**Author's Note:**

> So, I got this idea after listening to Flicker by Niall Horan and that's where I got the title from. Anyway this is just a snippet of a possible scene between Bruce and Nat after all the stuff goes down. It's a little angsty. Do enjoy :)

The night was quiet, the air outside still and cool, like the Earth itself had taken a break from spinning. It wasn’t surprising, not after the events of the last few weeks. The last few years, Bruce thought ruefully. 

 

Somehow they ended up back on the farm. Barton’s quiet abode was the same as he remembered, still a cluttered heap of organized chaos that reflected its younger inhabitants. It was almost unsettling after the battles that took them through time and space to be back in the simple house with its creaking floorboards and chipping paint. Walking into the house had felt like deja vu, the haggard remains of their team, tramping up the creaky porch and into the cramped space where Laura had coffee and a warm meal waiting for them. 

 

Bruce would be forever grateful for her kindness. They’d sat in silence and ate, the reality of battle weighing heavily on them all like it hadn’t after New York. It was too soon to tell if they’d recover this time. And once the food was gone the the coffee guzzled down they dispersed, pairing off to try and get some rest. But by the sound of light pacing in the next room and restrained sobbing across the hall, he doubted there would be any sleep that night. 

 

By some twisted turn of events, Bruce ended up with Natasha in the same room they’d talked about running away in. It was ironic, really, the room where he’d felt a glimmer of hope of something other than the constant running and fight be the place they end up when the world was all but crumbled at their feet. There was no running anymore; nowhere to run to. 

 

He watched her, sat with her knees pulled up to her chest in the old desk chair near the window, and wondered what she was thinking about. He wanted to ask, offer some form of comfort if that was even possible at this point, but he wasn’t sure she’d want to hear it from him. So he just sat at the foot of the bed and tried not to stare for too long. She hasn’t said anything since they’d arrived at the farm or much of anything in the last few weeks if he really thought about it. At least not to him. 

 

Bruce understood, he did, but a tiny part of him couldn’t help but sting a little at the deliberate avoidance. He’d missed her terribly and when her familiar touch against the Hulk’s skin brought him back, it’d felt like coming home. He’d wanted to pull her close and never let go again. Bruce could forgive her for pushing him into that hole, but she’d turned her back on him before all the green receded from his skin and he was left feeling hollow. 

 

“You’re thinking too loud.” Her hoarse whisper startled him and he turned to look at her again. 

 

“Sorry,” he whispered back, sitting up a little straighter, his stiff muscles protesting the movement. 

 

She didn’t look at him, her eyes trained out the window, though Bruce could see they were unfocused. 

 

“You’ve been quiet,” he said a few beats later, unable to stand the heavy silence any longer. They couldn’t remain in this static state forever. Better to rip the band aid off now, than let it fester. 

 

Natasha closed her eyes briefly before turning her head to look at him. She’d scrubbed all the dirt and grime from her face after they ate, leaving tiny red scratches against her hauntingly pale skin. Her shoulders were slumped like the weight of the entire world now sat on them and Bruce was certain she’d carry her guilt for a long time, they all would. They’d brought this destruction down on all of them, all they could do now was try and pick up the pieces, however little there were. 

 

She shrugged. “Not much to say.”

 

Bruce nodded sadly and looked down at his hands. A big yawn bubbled out of him and he was reminded just how exhausted he was. 

 

“You should get some sleep,” Natasha said, her voice still quiet, guarded. 

 

“I will if you will,” he tried to bargain. 

 

She turned her head away again. “I’m not tired.” 

 

Lie. He could see her eyelids drooping even from the side. 

 

“I can sleep downstairs if you want,” he offered. Maybe if he were out of the room she’d relax enough to get some rest. 

 

He started to stand, but she was out of the chair and standing in front of him in an instant. 

 

“Stay.” Her voice caught over the word and she stared up at him with open green eyes. 

 

She stepped closer, into his personal space and brought her and hand up to run her fingers through the short hair at the back of his neck. 

 

A small smile ghosted over her lips. “It’s shorter,” she mused, gently stroking his hair. 

 

Her cold fingers sent a shiver down Bruce’s spine.

 

“Hulk kept it short,” he told her bitterly. The thought of the Hulk fighting and killing for two years made his stomach churn. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she said and Bruce had to swallow the lump in his throat. 

 

He brought his hand up to lightly run his thumb over the bruise forming on her cheek. 

 

“Don’t be.” 

 

She smiled again, this one sticking around a little longer than the last before she looked serious again. 

 

“Are we okay?” she asked and Bruce could hear the uncertainty in her voice. 

 

“I don’t know,” Bruce answered honestly because until now he hadn’t been sure. “Are we?” 

 

Her hand on the back of his neck tightened as she pulled him down to meet her lips. 

 

The kiss was short and chaste, but it was enough, for now. He pulled away and kissed her forehead. 

 

“Let’s go to bed,” he whispered against her soft skin, relishing in the familiar scent of her. 

 

Natasha let go and stepped back and Bruce sat down and started moving along the bed until his back hit the metal frame. Natasha kicked off the slippers she’d donned earlier and crawled after him. Bruce shifted until he was laying on his back with Natasha’s head resting on his chest. 

 

She was quiet again, lazily tracing patterns against his thin t shirt. Bruce watched her and let his fingers run soothingly up and down her back until she spoke again. 

 

“I missed you,” she admitted, her voice thick. 

 

Bruce sighed and moved his hand from her back to run absently through her hair. 

 

“I know.” 

 

She shifted to look up at him. “Don’t leave again, okay?” 

 

“Never,” he told her without hesitation. 

 

Relief flooded her face and she kissed his collarbone before shifting to lay back down against him. 

 

They laid there in the quiet, just holding each other, content to savor the moment.

 

* * *

 

 

Despite his exhaustion, Bruce remained awake long after Natasha’s breathing evened out and she snored lightly, her warm breath tickling his chest. 

 

His mind was too restless for sleep. He wondered how long this would last, Natasha in his arms. Would she wake up in the morning and disappear? Was he a convenient warm body to seek comfort in when everything else around them had fallen apart? Nothing was certain, he’d learned that long ago and it seemed too easy that she was there with him, now, for good. The part of him that was always ready to run was urging him to go before she did. But he couldn’t, not again. 

 

Bruce wanted more than anything for this to last forever, him, Natasha and the quiet peace the room provided, away from the rest of the world. But it had to end eventually. 

 

He sighed at himself and shook his head. They weren’t perfect but he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. He thought of the day they met and the pull he’d felt even then, when he didn’t trust her for a second. He remembered the day she suggested the lullaby and how he’d be dead set against the insane idea, and how over the course of the year he fell for her. With her charming wit and wicked smile how could he not? He remembered the way his entire body warmed the first time they kissed. The way he heard her voice as if through a tunnel and took control again. How she had been the first person he pictured before sacrificing himself to help his friends. 

 

If he believed in fate, Bruce would think they were destined to be together. But fate didn’t exist,  aliens and monsters and magic did and in this wild universe she grounded him. He vaguely wondered if he did the same for her. 

 

For the first time since this all began he felt hope. Hope that they could make it in this crazy world together, that they hadn’t missed their window. Hope that someday it wouldn’t take the world falling to pieces for him to realize. 

 

“I love you, okay.” he whispered down to Natasha, his lips pressed to her forehead again. He closed his eyes and held her a little closer. 

 

“Please don’t leave.” 


End file.
